Saber rattling over Ukraine needs to stop

Much of Washington and the corporate media are outdoing one another with their saber rattling over the crisis in the Ukraine. Columnists and U.S. senators alike have called upon the Obama administration to come up with billions of dollars to bolster an unelected government in Kiev that is led by various stripes of ultra rightists, including fascists. Not surprising, but Fox News commentators have even called for the dispatch of a U.S. naval armada into the Black Sea.

Although President Obama has thankfully shown no inclination to carry out any such armed intervention, the administration has found common cause with neo-conservatives and Cold War warriors on this crisis, and, moreover with its unnecessary belligerent stance towards Russia. Threats to the Russians about the "price" they will pay for an "invasion" only serve to heighten tensions in an already extremely dangerous situation.

There are millions of Russian-speaking people in the Ukraine - half the population - who have legitimate concerns about their rights and what could happen if Russia's nuclear naval base falls into the hands of Ukrainian ultra nationalists.

Secretary of State John Kerry's pronouncements about how wrong it is to invade a sovereign country on "phony" pretexts ring hollow on many counts, including the United States' own inclination to invade and/or bomb countries on pretexts that turned out to be phony and destabilizing. (Invasions and bombings in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya; drones in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia; regime change in Honduras and attempts in Venezuela, just to name a few places.)

The Obama administration and the European Union actively supported protestors, many armed with AK47s and Molotov cocktails, to overthrow an elected government after its president, Viktor Yanukovych, backed out of a deal with the EU. Righteous reasons like opposition to corruption may have motivated many of the protestors, but it is clear that the government was taken over by well-finance and armed groups, not by democratic-minded demonstrators.

To end the standoff in the square, Yanukovych and the opposition negotiated a deal that would have defused the crisis. It would have brought protestors into the government, amnesty for all involved and new elections in several months. Despite President Obama's assurances that the U.S. would hold everyone to the deal, not a word was said when it was broken by the coup-inclined opposition two days later.

The band of ultra nationalists and fascists now running things in Kiev ignored the deal, took over the government buildings, and immediately passed laws discriminating against the 50 percent of Russian-Ukrainians and legalizing the display of the swastika and other fascist symbols. Reacting to anti-Semitism, now rampant in Kiev and elsewhere, the chief rabbi of Kiev urged Jewish residents to leave the city for their own safety.

Ukraine receives its energy from Russia and conducts 60 percent of its trade with that country. Western attempts to tear it out of that relationship and make it subservient to the International Monetary Fund, NATO and the EU were in the interests - not of the Ukrainian people but of the corporate 1 percent. Yanukovich's rejection of the EU austerity deal while Russia offered a $15 billion aid package seems understandable.

The geo-political goals of U.S. imperialism remain the plundering of this resource rich region. Nearer term, the U.S. ruling class interests see capitalist Russia as hindering their ability to expand their dominance of the world markets. Since Napoleon oligarchs of one type or another have had that dream.

As Americans, our interests lie in a reduction of these dangerous tensions and a peaceful, democratic resolution. We all stand to benefit from cooperation between Ukraine and Russia and all the countries of that region, as well as U.S.-Russian cooperation.

Photo: A pro-Russian soldier stands by a billboard with a map on which is written "Autonomous Republic of Crimea." Local Crimean officials have said there will be a referendum in March to determine the status of Crimea.

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Comments

Good Article. If this is an invasion then what is the body bag count? Seems that is an important element in all of our undeclared wars. As I understand the Crimea was donated by Russia and now the people in Crimea want to return to the Russian fold. That appears democratic to me.
One would suppose the U.S. can't find jobs for its own people without handing over billions of our tax money that could be better used in the U.S.

Posted by RiverRat, 03/06/2014 6:40pm (1 year ago)

Glaring and revealing is that fact that the monopolized, compromised, "mainstream" media has been almost totally silent on the precipitous, virulent Nazi, probable CIA and right wing elements and their roles in the Ukraine's current crisis.
The big, big, lie about the "invasion" by Russia of the Ukraine and the other concealing the deal between Yanukovych and the opposition, stand out.
This kind of crisis shows the true weakness of U. S. imperialism today and that people's forces of information for peace and political will for peace have an opportunity like never before, to beat back the forces of reaction in the Obama administration and among the Republicans and other reactionaries.
This opportunity should be a main focus of the coming C P U S A convention.
As in the recent case in Syria, both the U. S. presidency and the monopoly media are trying to save face, and toning down their previous outlandish rhetoric by the print and electronic news of 5 March 20014.